Named after the infamous ancient lighthouse in Egypt
and inspired by the tradition of navigation technology, Pharos Science
and Applications, Inc. has been developing location-based technology
since 1998. They were one of the first PDA GPS vendors to sell their
GPS packages through local electronic stores at an affordable price.
Combining their feature-rich navigation software Ostia with Tele
Altas US map data, the Pharos GPS solution offers a complete package
for driving and walking navigation and guidance. If you are new GPS
technology, read our GPS FAQ. If you need
help evaluating a GPS solution for your PDA, read our GPS
evaluation guide.

Above: the GPS in Bluetooth dock

Above: the GPS removed from the Bluetooth
dock

Pharos bundles the Ostia software solution with
three types of GPS receivers to fit most of the Pocket PCs on the
market.
In-vehicle mouse GPS receiver- currently supports iPAQ 3800, 3900, 5100, 5400,
5500 and 2210 series; Toshiba e330, e740 and e750 series, Dell Axim X5, Pocket
PC Phone Edition, Jornada and Casio models, and more.
CompactFlash Card GPS receiver- currently supports any Pocket PC with a CF
option, including iPAQ, Toshiba and Dell models.
Bluetooth GPS receiver- currently supports all Bluetooth enabled Pocket PCs.
This GPS receiver can be removed from its Bluetooth “dock” and
used as CF GPS receiver or connect directly to your handle with serial cable.
If you want to learn more about Bluetooth, check out our primer and BT reviews here.
We tested the Bluetooth GPS packet on an iPAQ
1945 with built-in Bluetooth.

What's in the box?

You will find a Pharos iGPS-360 receiver which
is a square puck that can be plugged into the included Bluetooth
dock or the Pharos CompactFlash adapter, iGPS-BT dock with Li-Polymer
rechargeable/user-replaceable battery (720mah), AC battery charger,
car charger for the PDA, a vent mount kit and a friction pad for
the GPS, and a travel carrying case. Pharos GPS packages also include
4 CDs that have Ostia software. The map data includes street-level
and highway maps for all of the US states including Alaska and
Hawaii, as well as street-level maps of Canada. Pharos does not
have maps outside of North America, but it does support the standard
NMEA-0183 protocol at a baud rate of 4800 which means you can use
other NMEA compatible maps. The Pharos GPS package also comes with
an iGPS-BT user manual and an Ostia User’s Manual.

Installation

The installation process is fairly simple and painless.
Put your Pocket PC in the cradle and pop in the Installation CD and
you will see the Pharos Ostia Setup window. You can install both
navigation software and the MapFinder utility software via this window.
You can also launch the User Manual here as well. To install the
navigation software onto your Pocket PC, click on the Install Ostia
button. The navigation software takes just a little over 1.1MB. After
installing Ostia navigation software, you will need to install the
MapFinder onto your desktop. The MapFinder utility software gives
you an interface that will help you select and download the map data.
If you wish to read the manual, check Read User’s Manual and
click on the Finish button.

After you’ve successfully installed the software,
you can launch MapFinder on your desktop. You will see a very nice
visual map of the US with each State broken down into small areas
so that you can download the maps covering only the areas you need.
You can download one or multiple maps to one of the three destinations:
Pocket PC, desktop/laptop PC and a card reader. The visual map and
all the options listed above the map provide you with all the information
you will need for selecting and downloading maps. When you move the
cursor over the map, you will see a pop-up window showing the area
of this particular piece of map, the size of the map, which data
CD it’s stored on, and more. You can simply use this visual
map and double click on the areas you wish to download, or type in
a city name or a zip code to find the area you are looking for. Once
you’ve selected all the maps you wish to download, hit the
Execute Map Copy button on the top right hand corner. The application
will detect all the storage locations, and the amount of the space
available as well as the size of your maps. You will need to insert
the CD that has your map data. All three map data CDs have a list
of States on the cover. Once the map data is installed, you are ready
to map out routes on your Pocket PC and drive with your GPS.

Planning your trips on the Pocket PC is equally easy
with Pharos Ostia software. You can find an origin or a destination
by searching you Outlook Contacts database, Favorites, addresses
on the map, POI database (using Smart Finder) or an intersection.
If you have searched addresses before, you will see a Recent Destination
list and can reuse these addresses you’ve searched before.
Once you have found an Origin and a Destination, you can calculate
the route and get the directions. Ostia allows multiple waypoints
(up to 10 stops) in your trip planning, so if you need to stop
somewhere along the way, you can get directions to those places
as well. There are three route options in Ostia: Fastest, Shortest
and No Highway, but you can only select one of these options. The
routes I have mapped out seem on target with the right choices
when it comes to using local roads vs. highways.

If you are planning your trips ahead of the
time and don’t have your GPS turned on yet, you can play
your planned routes in simulation. There is also a reverse route
function for return trips.

Driving with Pharos GPS

Turn on the Bluetooth GPS by pushing the On button
located on the right side of the BT dock and your Bluetooth radio
on your Pocket PC. Discover and pair the Pharos GPS on your device
and you’re ready to go. The Pharos GPS receiver gets very
strong signal in the Silicon Valley area, consistently tracking
5-7 satellites with 8-10 in view. There are two GPS views, one
that shows the satellites positions and signal strength and the
other which shows the compass and your location information. It
takes less than a minute to initialize the GPS and only a few seconds
to warm start it.

The Pharos GPS comes with several guidance systems.
Text driving directions, under View in the main menu, gives you
turn-by-turn driving directions in text, with icons and a summary
of the trip. You can also get single turn view, which displays
your next turn in larger fonts and icons, as well as a split screen
that displays both the map view and the single turn view. Routes
are color-coded on the map view with small icons marking the origin
and destination as well as stops you’ve planned for the trip.
There are also options to choose daytime map view or night map
view. To move the map on the screen, you will need to use the D-pad
on your PDA.

You have the option to turn on or off the voice guidance.
The voice guidance seems on target. Though doesn’t come on
as often as some other GPS solutions we’ve tested, the voice
guidance does come on for every turn and at the start and end of
a trip. The alert sound uses the same sound as the one you hear
when you reset your Pocket PC. It may take you a long while to
get comfortable with that!

Smart Navigator

Pharos has added some special features in their package
to stand out from the growing number of GPS solutions for PDAs.
Smart Navigator allows their GPS users to access the Pharos Traffic
and POI servers. While real time traffic info has existed for quite
a long time in road navigation technologies, Pharos is the first
one to offer it in a GPS package for PDAs. While the Smart Navigator
is built into your GPS, you do need to purchase the services and
sign in when you need to get up-to-date traffic info and road conditions.
The POI database is also updated on these servers. This real time
traffic update combined with route planning and recalculating features
in the GPS provides users with a great solution to deal with ever-present
uncertainties on the road. The Smart Navigator is however not available
outside of the United States.

Conclusion

The design of this GPS is a big winner. Having a
Bluetooth Dock and the ability to covert the GPS to CF card and
serial cable formats will make this a dream GPS receiver for those
who have multiple devices or upgrade their Pocket PCs often. The
strong signal strength and short starting time make this wireless
and ultra portable unit even more attractive. The 720mAh Li-Polymer
rechargeable/removable battery has good run times.

The Ostia navigation software gives you enough
features to map out routes and follow driving directions, yet
is not to complicated to use. The ability to search and input
destinations from Outlook Contacts, other databases and on the
maps makes the navigation quick and easy. The voice guidance
and alert system have good timing, although the alert sound needs
a desperate replacement. The real time traffic feature could
be a huge factor for urban drivers even if it costs additional
money.